Explore History, Culture & Writing
Explore our extraordinary range of History, Culture and Writing courses and lectures. We offer both introductory and specialist in-depth courses to suit all levels of interest and experience, from ‘How to read a film’ and World literature, to Creative non-fiction writing courses and American history and Politics courses.
Our tutors are experts in their fields and experienced educators; many have published, teach in universities or share their expertise in the media. Tutors share their knowledge and passion through presentations, readings, interactive discussion and exercises, analysis, and other activities.
Many students return to take more courses, telling us they enjoy being part of our City Lit Learning community.
Our popular courses often sell out quickly, so we invite you to browse and book your place now.
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- Italian cinema: From Neorealism to the Genre FilmCourse start date: Fri 28 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Cristina MassaccesiThis cinema course focuses on Italian cinema in the years between 1945 and 1980. It will provide you with an overview of the main historical, cultural and social aspects of Italian filmmaking in Italy by looking at the work of some of its most influential author/directors.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Focus on: fashion in 16th century art
Course start date: Fri 28 Apr 2023Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Julie BarlowDo you know your codpiece from your farthingale? Why did the ruff become so fashionable? How do we identify figures in narrative and religious art? This short course explores the fascinating world of costume in 16th century European painting. Explore the socio-political context behind portraiture, how fashion was employed to convey status, and the impact of developments in textiles and trade.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Strange tales and dark dreams: Fantasy, horror and surrealism in European cinemaCourse start date: Sat 29 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyExplore a selection of films from the early days of European cinema, and later, that draw on a range of key genre traditions, but which have also acquired significant critical reputations, with their memorable visual qualities and unsettling narratives lending them an enduring place in both cinema and popular culture. Strange tales and dark dreams to fascinate, horrify and astound you.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Focus on: HopperCourse start date: Sat 29 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersStudy Hopper’s key works, including 'Automat' and 'Nighthawks', within the context of biography, social and political events, and movements such as Regionalism, Social Realism and American Scene painting.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - The rise and fall of the Mughal EmpireCourse start date: Sat 29 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ellen CarpenterOn this introductory course we will follow the fortunes of the Mughal Emperors, rulers of Northern India from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. What were their contributions to the religious, political and cultural life of northern India?Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Get together and readCourse start date: Thu 19 Jan 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Claire AllenEnjoy talking with other people about the things you have read? Want to share great stories, poems and drama? Come along and join the conversation. The group is led by a shared reading practitioner trained by The Reader Organisation.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £50.00 - From Caligari to Touch of Evil: Expressionism in the CinemaCourse start date: Fri 5 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyCharacterised by chiaroscuro, or high contrast lighting, and similarly stylised narratives, the expressionist film informs German cinema of the 1920s, French poetic realism of the 1930s, and the American and European film noir of the 1940s and 1950s. This course explores a range of key examples of expressionist cinema drawn from these contexts and asks why the style continues to fascinate us.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Looking back: the Ottoman Empire, 1299-1922Course start date: Sat 6 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Martin JorgensenWant to know more about the history of the Ottoman Empire and its legacies in the modern Middle East? Join us on this course to get an introduction.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Masters of Cinema: Clint Eastwood - Directing the WestCourse start date: Sun 7 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Graham Rinaldi“The Western brought me a certain notoriety” – Clint Eastwood the last of the Western Film Directors. This course will look at Eastwood’s body of work set in the American Wild West from High Plains Drifter to Cry Macho. We will explore his themes, storytelling, influences and techniques in creating a truly American art form.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Detective reading: fictions, fakes and hoaxingCourse start date: Tue 9 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Kate WilkinsonTake a deep dive into two distinctive novels from accomplished contemporary writers – Siri Hustvedt’s The Blazing World and Graeme Macrae Burnet’s Case Study. Each tells a compelling story about impersonation and identity, weaving multiple voices together and asking readers to decide who to believe. As we read these two novels we’ll explore their stories and themes, their techniques for inspiring trust and for casting doubt, and the challenges and pleasures of becoming a ‘detective reader’.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Spectacles of the Ancient worldCourse start date: Thu 11 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael BloomfieldThis course explores some of the most elaborate and powerful displays of the Graeco-Roman world. Designed to entertain, inform, and elicit support, often at times of great political or religious significance, they were unforgettable, and have long exercised an influence on our own understanding of the nature of power.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Japanese crime fictionCourse start date: Thu 11 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Beatrice Ashton-LelliottJapanese crime literature is reaching new audiences, with many classics being translated into English for the first time. This course explores a range of Japanese mysteries, detectives and their recurring themes, from ‘locked room’ classics to the dark side of human nature – with many murders along the way!
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Women behind the camera: in Hollywood and beyondCourse start date: Sat 13 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ellen CheshireSince 1952, the British Film Institute through its magazine, Sight and Sound, has conducted a poll of film critics every decade to find out what are the Greatest Films of All Time. When the latest poll was published in December 2022 it sent #FilmTwitter into a tailspin. There seemed to be some surprise that a film few had seen and was directed by a woman had now taken that top spot. In this Study Day we will look at the women directors whose films feature on 2022 poll.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Dickens' LondonCourse start date: Sat 13 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Molly Rumbelow'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Enjoy this introduction to Dickens' work and the London of his time. Morning lecture at City Lit followed by a walk in the area of the city connected to his work.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Developing your fairytaleCourse start date: Sat 13 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nicole AcquahAlready devised a cunning plan for your own fairytale? This fun workshop coaches students on how to add an extra dash of magic into the cauldron while writing in the fairytale genre.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
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